Order came from upper echelon, says Heritage Party

The Heritage Party condemns the six-year imprisonment of Colonel Volodya Avetisyan, labeling it another act of vengeance wreaked by Armenian courts by the order of political echelons, which is aimed at suppressing the principle of freedom of expression.

“Violations of this kind in the Post-Soviet space, particularly in the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation, are the remnants of behaviour typical of KGB agents. Their immediate surmounting is the imperative of the day.

The persecution of political prisoners Volodya Avetisyan, Shant Harutyunyan, Vardan Petrosyan and many others, which is ordered by the acting authorities, is nothing more than a hostile act of violence against the Armenian people and their interests.

Regardless of the country where our compatriots are prosecuted and convicted for political or other reasons, we are obliged to protect the rights of Hambik Sasunian in the U.S., Hrant Dink, Sevan Nshanyan and Sevak Balkchi in Turkey, Vahagn Chakhalyan in Georgia, Levon Hayrapetyan in Russia as a commitment stemming from our national interests.

The Heritage Party believes that the persecution of the aforesaid Armenian citizens evidences to the absence of legitimate power in Armenia and calls on Armenians to unite under the national flag and carry out the sacred mission of creating a free and legitimate state,” the party said in a statement.